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This year's best video game related April Fool gags

Optimus Prime will not actually be in Titanfall. Whether this is a a disappointment or a relief is up for debate.

When the first of April rolled around this year, I was a bit of a spoilsport. I was tempted to run with a joke article, but I've always said that I will only ever do a hoax if I felt I had a strong idea. Sadly no good concepts came to mind this time around, so instead you got a serious philosophical article about the life lessons in gaming. Woo! Party on!

All around the web in the past 24 hours, gaming news sites and video game publishers have been trying to pull the wool over gamers' eyes, some of them in clever and subtle ways, and others more obvious. As always, at least one falls into the "damn, I wish this was real" category, much like EGM's wonderful Lego Halo joke in 2008.

Following is a round-up of some of the gags that have amused me. If you saw any good ones that I missed, feel free to add them in the comments.

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Autobots, prepare for Titanfall - Depending on your point of view, you might put this one in the "wish it were true" category, or "I'm glad it's fake". EA and Respawn worked together with gaming news site IGN to release a very polished trailer announcing the addition of Optimus Prime as a playable robot in their multiplayer hit Titanfall. I watched it with one eyebrow raised, thinking it was a weird marketing decision, until it clicked that I was looking at a joke. My favourite part is the fine print at the end which states, "Megatron would like to remind you that he is the one true leader of Cybertron. All hail Megatron."

World of Tanks goes Minecraft - Players of World of Tanks got a fun surprise yesterday when they logged in to find that they had a new tank added to the garage for free. Its name was Karl, and it was a fully playable vehicle made in chunky Minecraft style. Well, when I say it was "fully playable", it could only be used in a Minecraft-themed map (complete with destructible cubic walls). The punchline was the reaction of some fans who thought it was a permanent addition to their garage and freaked out, demanding it be removed.

Far Cry 3, Blood Dragon 2, Manchester United zero - This one may not even be a joke, and it will be at least a few days before we know for sure. A sequel to Blood Dragon (itself a hilariously tongue-in-cheek add-on to Far Cry 3) was "accidentally" leaked on Instagram during an announcement about the Blood Dragon soundtrack album. Titled Blood Dragon III: Vietnam War 2 (almost certainly a parody of the numerically challenged Rambo III) it could be real, since the original Blood Dragon was also announced on April Fools Day.

Google Maps lets you catch 'em all - Google had some fun this year with an entertaining prank in Google Maps on iOS and Android devices that added around 150 Pokemon dotted all around the world. Upon finding one, you could tap on it to collect it, and online discussions immediately exploded with people sharing tips on where they could be found (including the Gold Gate Bridge, the Eiffel Tower, Sydney Opera House, and the notorious Area 51 military base).

Garrus just needs a snuggle - For the Mass Effect fans who are a bit in love with Garrus (I may or may not fall into that category) this one was a little mean. Bioware added a new item to their store: a "therapeutic companion pillow" with Garrus printed on it. The bogus item is life-size, and supposedly made of memory foam that "quickly calibrates to your body for unmatched support". Aw, poor Garrus. He really did need a hug.